Does It Matter If The Movie Spider-Man Doesn’t Match The Cartoon Spider-Man?

Next Wednesday sees the release of Superior Spider-Man #1, Marvel Comics’ new series in which Peter Parker has been replaced by… someone else (I’ll save the spoilers for under the jump, in the unlikely instance that you haven’t read the story or seen the news somewhere else). Thing is, that’s clearly not the version of Spider-Man that’ll appear in the next Amazing Spider-Man movie or Disney XD’s Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon. But does it matter?

Of course, that’s not to say that the animated Peter Parker is necessarily the same character as the movie Peter Parker, either. They may share a name and a power set, but the movie incarnation of the character is far more tortured and angst-ridden than the animated version – and, perhaps more importantly, has a somewhat different set of motivations (I’d argue that Amazing sets up a Peter Parker driven not by what happened to Uncle Ben, but by the mystery of what happened to his parents, and finding some way to not only answer the questions arising from their disappearance but also avenge their likely deaths in some way, but YMMV). Sure, the difference between Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker and Drake Bell’s is minor compared with the Otto Parker that now exists in the comic books, but it essentially brings up the same issue: How much fidelity between different versions of the same character in different media is necessary?

The notion that there are multiple interpretations of Spider-Man as a concept is curious, though, pushing the notion of Spider-Man as brand or franchise over character; it reduces the character to particular signifiers, scrubbed clean of the long history of the comic book incarnation. Spider-Man ceases to be one entity, but becomes a generic name for a number of similar ones, independent of each other in the same way that Batman did in the 1960s, with the Adam West incarnation seeming like a different person with the same name as the version that appeared in the comics, yet becoming the version the world came to remember and believe in for decades afterwards.

But is the brand name and fairly consistent costume enough to make all of these different characters “Spider-Man” in equal measure? If that’s the case, then could an audience embrace Miles Morales, the comic-book Ultimate Spider-Man as “Spider-Man” in a movie? I’m unconvinced; I suspect that there’s a core “Spider-Man” myth (or, at least, identity) in the mass pop culture mind, and that anything that doesn’t conform to that is dismissed by the majority of people. For most people, Spider-Man has to have a Peter Parker who has to lose his Uncle Ben and go from zero to hero, even if most people in the story don’t know that, and that’s the basis of the character; everything else within that is up for grabs.

(Of course, this leaves both current comic incarnations of the character, Miles and Otto, as anomalies, which is interesting; perhaps both are the result of over-familiarity with the Peter Parker character and concept…? And yet, both still feature Parker as an influence in their respective comics, even if it’s just in the suggested legacy that the new characters have to live up to.)

It isn’t just Spider-Man that has these problems, of course; most people knew Green Lantern (if at all) as John Stewart through the Justice League cartoon before Hal Jordan strode onto the movie screen, and DC Comics found itself essentially re-creating Green Arrow in the image of the Smallville version for its New 52 comic relaunch, before the CW’s Arrow offered up a more serious take and the comic has undergone a course correction. For DC, Green Arrow is clearly considered a malleable enough concept to play with in that way, and bring in line with the mass consensus of “who” he is; is that the way to manage these kinds of expectations, or is Marvel’s take on Spider-Man more what you’d like to see, with each version being free to bring whatever it wants to the party even if that may be confusing to newcomers meeting a new version for the first time…?

I have no answers; I’m genuinely curious: Would you rather see one take on a character across multiple media, or let everyone in charge of each version do what they want? Use the comments and share your wisdom, people.

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Comments

Jon C

Well, no one under the age of 20 buys comic books anymore (not at these prices anyway). If Marvel’s marketing do the Superior book right, they’d add “one of Spider-Man’s archenemies has taken over Peter Parker’s mind and is now the Superior Spider-Man” to any future trade paperbacks, to avoid confusion for future readers.

Most people know Spider-Man in his iconic form. As you can see, every other media form of Spider-Man sells extremely well (movies, animations, all the licensing). There’s still SO much to mine from the iconic version – because it will be reinterpreted by new hands. For example, I LOVED the Fantastic Four animation from 2005 (24 episodes; had the James-Bond-like opening music) that was produced by a French company (I think) called Moonscoop. The series was energetic, funny as heck and brimming with energy. Contrast that with the movies, which were more sombre, action-led and a bit soap-opera-y.

I think having different interpretations of the same iconic version is the best way. It’s like ‘price differentiation strategies’ in the supermarkets – where different products (even if it’s just the same one product) are branded in different ways to capture different audiences. I think that’s wise, to start with the demographic and *then* work out how to “mold” your character/stories to fit. (something the Big Two have failed to learn)

So, your Green Arrow example works on that level. Two interpretations, to fit two different audiences. Think of it as viewing your favorite character but from different angles.

Personally, I would like to see the iconic version – because there’s so many interpretations still left to do. Even through the eyes of supporting cast do we get new “versions” of the character. For example – the ‘Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane” series a few years back, where we saw Spidey’s world through MJ’s eyes.

As I mentioned, the Big Two are the ONLY companies – who OWN these characters – who don’t understand how to create books for these characters. They keep wanting to relaunch, reboot, drastically change them. They seem bizarrely afraid to adhere to the core, iconic concept. It’s quite sad, really. They’d make more money, if they did – since people out there might want to read more of the original concept. Doc Ock as Spider-Man? Uh… um… hmmm…

Rollo Tomassi

Spider-Man/Peter Parker is such a great archetype that as long as the “core” element is there (Brilliant Introvert bitten by Radioactive Spider/Great Power’n’Responsibility/Guilt) you can have multiple different takes on the character.

The Otto Spidey isn’t a fresh take unto itself. It’s merely a chapter in the original ongoing story. Peter will eventually be back and ten years from now people will say “remember when Otto was Spidey for a year?” kinda like they remember the Clone Saga or Kraven’s Last Hunt.

Miles Spidey is also a variant on the Peter story because he’s the Legacy of Peter. Miles didn’t become Spidey in a vacuum. So the “core” is still very much a part of the mythology. It shows what happens when Peter inspires the next hero after he’s gone. But the “Great Power/Responsibility is still very much there.

Jim H.

I’d be willing to bet that b the time the new movie comes out, the current storyline in the comics will be over. Marvel is pretty obsessed with the idea that the movies bring in new readers and the comics have to match those new readers expectations as much as possible (just look at all the changes they made to Avengers characters to fit the movie), so I don’t doubt Spidey will be back to normal by then.

Ryan C.

Which is actually a little funny because of how little Marvel markets comics directly to movie or TV audiences.

RDMacQ

No, I don’t think it matters.

I’m pretty sure people are smart enough to know the books differ from the movies or the TV shows.

If they can accept that Hawkeye is Alan Alda rather than Donald Sutherland, I think people can accept that the Spidey from the comics doesn’t EXACTLY line up with Andrew Garfield’s Spidey.

We need to give consumers a hell of a lot more credit.

http://horrorsofspiderisland.blogspot.com/ E. Wilson

I’d argue the opposite angle: the fact that there are multiple incarnations of the character across the various franchises is a sign of the character’s strength, not a weakness. Not every character can support such a diverse slate of interpretations, after all. Even the differences you note in motivation for the current cinematic Spidey (although I don’t quite agree with that assessment), speaks to the strength of the character and his subsequent franchise; Web and co. chose to focus more on the Parker Parents partly because the original story was so etched into the public consciousness. (To make another Batman comparison, it’s very similar to Nolan taking a completely different approach to Batman’s origin as opposed to the Burton film.)

Dfc2896

I know lots of people under 20 who reads comic books

Korniak

well he said “buy” not read :P

http://twitter.com/JuanSam26 Juan

No one under 20 buys comic books? i’m sorry but I’m not sure anything you said can be taken seriously after that rather ignorant comment.

http://twitter.com/JuanSam26 Juan

Yes, the Otto thing is just a chapter and still part of Peter Parker’s story and not a brand new one.

Spider-Man is not a character like Green Lantern or the Flash. Spider-Man is defined by Peter Parker. Miles Morales works because it’s an alternate universe and a possiblity while Pete is still the main Spidey.

As for the current Superior situation, this article assumes Peter will never come back, which is silly.

Spider-Man at the core is always Peter and the Superior thing is just part of Peter’s story.

Andrew Watt

Of course not!!, there are fans that are attached to the character in a way that doesn’t allow them to accept new versions…newest example of course being Raimi’s and Webb’s versions of Pete…COMPLETELY DIFFERENT…AND BOTH VALID!!

if every version of Pete were the same then the franchise would get old rather quickly, spidey fans should be more like Doctor Who fans…just accept that once every few years/movies etc the wall-crawler will have a new face but as long as he has the mind/power set, the science nerd within (a failing on Raimi’s part) and the love of a woman who is very out of his league (go on spidey :D) it doesnt matter who plays him or what he looks like…he will always be favored by the generation that knows him

Dfc2896

I agree, there’s always a bit of confusion at first, but eventually people place it together

Dfc2896

They all buy them :P

beane2099

I agree that the price of comics inhibits younger readers, but I see lots of kids come into my LCS buying new comics and back issues. Of course their parents aren’t necessarily thrilled, but they’re there anyways.

Nightfyre

I won’t competely agree that no one under 20 buys them (Comic Book Men and Comic Cons would probably show a different picture to this), it’s just rare and with the internet they can just get them for free or buy a digital copy online. They don’t enjoy what some of us have walking into a comic book store and striking up a conversation with them each week when fresh comics arrived.

Comics are getting expensive, and if you want to keep up with the story/character(s) you’re going to have to spend the dough; that’s a turnoff for some people now. I don’t see people under 20 in the comic book store anymore but in their 30’s+, since we’ve grown up with them when some were still 1.00 and have found that to be our main source of entertainment. It’s hard to let go of that of that medium.

Also anymore it seems you can just download copies for free of the internet from some site; so why pay when it’s easier to steal in their minds, like the music/games/movies they do and say it’s not a problem.

Nightfyre

The first three Spider-man played by Tobey Maguire threw me off of Spider-man for awhile. Hated how he was portrayed, least with the latest spider-man they tried to upgrade him into current times to strike a cord with the latest generations.

That’s where you need to go to grab new people, make it a story that newer people will like and not send older ones to the forums/blogs complaining about it. That’s the challenge, staying true to the character, getting new readers, and keeping the old ones happy. So no steam-punk era spider-man, though… hmm I might actually like watching a movie like that.

David

That last staement calls to mind this, most ridiculous point of the article, “most people knew Green Lantern (if at all) as John Stewart through the Justice League cartoon before…”

children

The dominant GL in the comics at the time wasn’t even John Stewart, so it’s debatable at best–and then you pile on all the Parallax action–and that’s just for people like our writer who experienced comics for the first time in a small slice of history. When you go back to your writing teacher next quarter, discuss how your personal experience isn’t necessarily a statement of fact.

Gerrym

replacing peter parker with Otto Octavius is a story line not permanent.Like the death of superman,blue superman,batman replaced temporarily and on and on.

You know Peter Parker will be back. movies,tv,comics always are different

David

And I know you’re discussing popular imagination, not comic readers, but Stewart wasn’t even the first GL on a Saturday morning cartoon. Just recoiling at the “most people.”

http://twitter.com/JuanSam26 Juan

True, but they still buy online. Plus parents also get books for the more younger readers as well. But yes, it’s true, the younger ones are probably more into the digital.

beane2099

At this stage I think it’s perfectly fine to have different iterations of a character. I think one of the greatest things Marvel could have done was allow Bendis to make a new Spider Man. That, to me, is the essence of the Ultimate universe. I wish they’d make more changes like that, honestly. The Ultimate Universe doesn’t just have to be a cooler or more severe version of the regular Marvel U.

Personally, I don’t agree with the mindset that the comics HAVE to match the movies. But we all know the “real Peter Parker” will be back in 2014 when the next Spiderman movie comes out. Steve Rogers was back in the Captain America costume right before Captain America was to come out in theaters. Suddenly (and strangely) 616 Nick Fury has to match movie Nick Fury (which matched Ultimate Nick Fury).

Granted Marvel has a ton of books that still do their own thing (Uncanny Avengers, etc) but they definitely change certain status quos when a movie’s about to come out. But hell, it’s their company, and they can do what they want. And I still buy comics cause I love the medium. But I personally think it’s okay if the comic version and the movie version are two different things. In fact, I like different versions of the same character. After decades of stories, there’s only so much you can do.

Stealie

I used to get upset when Movies and TV got things incorrect i.e. costumes history and sometimes even names. I have since come to the conclusion that to save my sanity it is just better to look at each one of these as an alternate universe. In doing this I allow myself to be entertained by the characters I love and not stress about little continuity issues.

John Shine

Comic Book Men is as realistic a view of comics retail as Real Housewives is about managing your home. I work comics retail and we have a substantial under 20 market. Indeed, if anything we get complaints that there are not enough young reader titles out there.

Dallen817

one take on a character across multiple media.

http://twitter.com/diarra_harris Diarra Harris

No it doesn’t matter if the movie and comic versions are different. However just a hunch but I imagine even if a doc ock spider is a success it will be back to the status quo right before the movie comes out.

http://twitter.com/diarra_harris Diarra Harris

Most people that will see the movie will have not read or will read the comic so it doesn’t matter.

http://www.facebook.com/john.gregory.355 John Gregory

No matter what, there is no justifying the Amazing Spider-Man (Movie) Peter Parker. He was the opposite of everything that I hold dear and thousands of other fans cherish about the character. If movies/shows/other comics want to do Peter right, they need to have the core characteristics down.

Uncannyx-man

I’m 17, I’ve been buying regularly since I was 15. With my worked for money no doubt.

ultraaman

No on both accounts.

For me, I like seeing tweaks to characters because it’s A) interesting, and B) cements that the character is robust and almost-alive enough to endure the changes and yet still be the same. WB Animation Superman gets punched out alllllll the time but I like seeing him de-powered especially in a Justice League setting because it keeps him from stealing the spotlight.

But I also don’t agree that there is really any major super-hero property that was revamped so much as to change the original. John Stewart was introduced as one of many Green Lanterns, and Hal even makes a guest-star appearance, so Abin Sur didn’t crash land and give John his ring in the animated Justice League. However John did get his ring it was after Hal was already Green Lantern. Other than the web-shooter thing in the 2000’s Spider-man, super-heroes don’t change.

A super-hero is like any character brand. It is in the owner’s best interest to both preserve the identity across mediums as well as make that character appropriate for the medium in question because money. Comics, novels, TV, movies – they each have strengths, weakness, and traits that do not carry over to one another so it makes sense that a character that appears in each of them would change as well.

Each character has essential traits based in their origins and, to a lesser extent, defined by milestone stories but even those aren’t required if they don’t fit. I didn’t watch the GL film but I know WB didn’t addressed the fact that the ring chose Hal over Guy, not because he was the #1 choice, but because he was simply closer. It was left out because in a 90-minute movie you have to keep a high-concept plot from being dragged off into tangents no matter what depth they may bring to the story. However, if there was a GL TV show I guarantee you that that would be an excellent plot to include.

Spider-man’s webbing is another example. In a comic or cartoon, it’s easy to believe a teen-ager could invent super-strong, super-flexible, compact web shooters that almost never run out. In a mass market movie, it’s an easier sell to just make that webbing part of Peter and not confuse the audience that the young hero is both super and smart.

Michael Bast

It’s not ignorant, if a bit overstated. The demographic problems of the big publishers are pretty well known, they bemoan the small number of young readers all the time. It’s a HUGE part of why they’re dying off. Denying that is a bit much. Not that people don’t deny reality all the time to make a point, but it’s reality none the less.

Michael Bast

“Indeed, if anything we get complaints that there are not enough young reader titles out there.”

Yes, and why is that? If there were enough young readers to support the market (as with other kinds of books) there would be more. That a few people complain doesn’t make the market any bigger. Kids do read more now than they did a couple of decades ago, but comics are competing with MANY other forms of entertainment and will likely die off as the buyers become fewer and fewer. Sad, but life is what it is. I think the time of comics has passed.

http://profiles.google.com/avanta72 Adam Avant

Comicbook fans need to wake up and smell the coffee…

Marvel and DC are all about licensing now; the publishing divisions are deader than disco. Either the funnybooks themselves either (a) just ape what’s been seen on screen or (b) they go off in insanely bizarre directions to make them completelly unrecognizable from the original core concepts. Reason (a) is due to the mistaken idea that cartoons, movies, and videogames lead to comicbook sales. (Guess what? They don’t.) And reason (b) is due to the realistic idea that cartoons, movies, and videogames do not lead to comicbook sales … and hey, we’re selling to a dying adult market anyway … so why not go balls to the wall with this stuff?

The sales figures for comicbooks are atrocious. And they’ve been that way since the late 90s.

If you’re Marvel or DC, you now obviously want to increase awareness of Spider-Man, Batman, and the Fanstastic Four through media other than comicbooks. Action figures, birthday plates, T-shirts, etc. are all more important than the funnybooks now!

No one in the mainstream would ever identify themselves as a Marvel Comics fan or a DC Comics fan. Instead, they’d say, “I’m a Marvel fan” or “I’m a DC fan.”

So to answer the original question? No, it doesn’t matter one iota that Spider-Man is Doctor Octopus in the comics. No one other than the most minutiae-minded comicbook fans are going to care.

Laurence Sinclair

Which is why Hawkeye has started dressing like his movie self in the comics for no reason, and SLJ Nick Fury and Coulson have appeared on the scene.

RDMacQ

That’s not the fault of the readers. That’s the fault of the companies underestimating the readers.

Jon

I’m guessing the comic book Peter Parker is the only one who sells Mary-Jane to Satan just to rid himself of some guilty feelings over mistakes he made.

Is it really such a bad thing if the movie and cartoon versions of him are DIFFERENT from that?

Yanks5179

So long as Marvel keeps making the claim that the hope people seeing the movie will be curious enough to walk into the comic shop, then, absolutely, yes. If someone sees Spider-Man for the first time and then wants a comic, it should at least be the same guy in the suit. My ten year old nephew is getting into comics now because of the movies, my three year daughter because of the cartoons and my own collection.

Cylon

The only real change is that Hulk is suddenly seen as a classic Avenger, despite the fact he left the team after the first issue to become one of their classic villains.

Black Fury and Coulson were added, nothing already existing really changed, since white Fury has not been working for SHIELD for years now.

Reefmatic

Whoever write this article is obviously a young guy with very little comic book knowledge if he thinks that most people would associate Green Lantern with Jon Stewart. Hal Jordan would be THE clear choice. I never really read GL comics growing up & I knew the definitive GL is Hal Jordan. So in regards to this article, it’s not relative to use GL when making the comments made here.

Cylon

to add, franchise superhero comic books have always been absorbing elements that worked or were at least popular from other media, be it a film, tv series, cartoon or radio show, since Golden Age.

Dfc2896

youre a bit of a cynic

124

I think Peter Parker is still alive but his consciousness is locked in his brain and will eventually come out.

Geno2876

As a middle school teacher, I know tons of kids who love the various superhero movies, and you can’t get them to touch a comic. This generation hates to read as a whole; its got to be on a digital device for them to even think about it. As for the article above, I’ve never bought into the fact that intelligent people can’t deal with different versions of characters. I was 6 or 7 years old when I was reading about multiple Earths and coming to grips with the fact that the Spiderman and his Amazing Friends was different from the Spiderman comics.

matt

I’m a high school art teacher (for the past 6 years) and I can 100% guarantee you that prior to the GL movie all of my students thought green lantern was Jon Stewart. This was soleyl ebcause of the Justice League Cartoon. They have little knowledge of Hal Jordan and NO knowledge of Rayner or Gardner. Most don’t even realize that theres more then 1 Lantern. When the movie came out alot of the students were complaining that it wasn’t the real lantern who they thought to be Stewart

http://www.facebook.com/skyy.crews Skyy Crews

I’m still heavily on the fence about how I feel about after Spidey 700 and I haven’t read Ultimate Spidey in years, even before Miles took over, so for me the movie version and animated version are my preferred versions of the character because even though they’re very different in story and tone at least they’re both still Peter Parker

matt

I’m 30, I’ve been reading comics since I was about 8 years old (I started regularly with the death of superman). I go to a comic book shop in westchester county new york called Alternate Reality, the majority of people in our county go there that are weekly readers. I can tell you from observation that we have almost NO ONE under the age of 25 that is a weekly reader. For a LONG time I felt like I was the youngest person who went there. There are SOME teenagers who come in but its rare. Teenagers are actually rarer then women are in our shop. It might just be where I live but from observation I agree with Jon C’s statement about age. The majority of guys from our shop are 30 and older, mostly neck bearded men, and mostly guys who don’t know when to stop reading a bad comic (the type that drop 200 bucks a week on books just because they have to have everything of something).

matt

The teenagers that I know that read comics pirate them. Nearly every teen that I know that reads walking dead for example pirates it issue to issue.

And as far as Comic Con’s go, have you ever actually looked around in the comic book panels. It’s one thing to say the show floor is filled with all ages but go into a panel room and take a look around. You’ll be hard pressed to find anyone under the age of 20 who cares enough about the comics end of it. Most teens go to the new york con for example for just the atmosphere of it.

http://twitter.com/COMICBOOKMAN1 COMICBOOK MAN

The concept of the movies and cartoons being different Universes. It works for me.

Magnetic Eye

I’ve read ASM #700 and I can’t say that I actually
enjoyed it. In fact I was quite angry by the end of it. IMO, it’s as farcical
an idea as the ugly pseudo manga style artwork of a particular artist that has
polluted the pages of ASM in recent years.

I have longed for ASM to be steered back towards a
mature style of writing (not necessarily dark or gritty) but a no-nonsense
approach with grounded in depth characterization, drama and action.

I’m 48 years old and have been reading comics since
the age of 10 and feel the current creative team have really dumbed down this
title for those with an attention span deficit.

I’m certainly not buying into the notion that this
current story-line has been in development for the last 100 issues and I
won’t be buying into the Superior Spider-Man cheap marketing gimmick.

As far as movies go, I really don’t think it matters
much as they generally depict an alternate universe anyway but I do prefer
movie adaptations that try to be as authentic and genuine to the character as
possible. I believe Marvel Studios does this so much better than Fox or Sony’s
handling of Marvel characters.

http://www.facebook.com/robert.sienicki Robert Sienicki

I’m pretty sure that Peter Parkers conciousness is somewhere in Spider-Man and will take over with time. I’m almost certain it will happen before the premiere of Amazing Spider-Man 2, so we could have another big event of Peter Parker Coming Back.

Atalanta44

The thing is, what is one person’s bad comic is another’s greatest tale ever. Me? I loved Civil War/Fear Itself/AvX and all that stuff. Other people hated them. I am one of those ‘bad’ collectors you mention, but I don’t consider myself a ‘bad’ collector at all. A tale that starts out crap can turn out good. To throw a hissy fit just because you don’t like one story, because it means you miss out and character development, plus it means you could miss out on a tale that turns out really well. Me? I’ll be buying Superior Spider Man for sure.

Atalanta44

Other people have stated this already, Peter will be back in 2014 and if Superior Spider Man is a success, that character will be allowed to continue too, like Scarlet Spider Man. Superior Spider Man will be Peter’s nemesis and be a neat villain.

Psyberduck

On the one hand, I tend to see comics through a mythological lens, such that today’s Spider-Man is yesterday’s King Arthur or Odysseus. And as time has gone on, those stories have been retold by different authors, such that the Arthur in “Idylls of the King” and the Arthur in the “Merlin” TV series are different in a variety of ways, while still being the same core character.

On the other hand, is raises all kinds of questions for who the core of Spider-Man really is. In Ultimate Marvel, I can accept Miles, because Ultimate has become this kind of cool sand-box “What If?” universe that, unlike the main 616 Marvel earth, doesn’t have to bear any resemblance to it own. So the USA can be divided by civil war, Kitty Pride can lead a resistance X-Men, cats and dogs can live together, and Peter can actually die and leave behind a legacy. But in the main Marvel, the editors and writers have shown a steadfast commitment, right or wrong, to status quo. No attempt to replace a main character, not Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, Johnny Storm, or Thor, has ever stuck, and Bucky, Rhodey, Spidey, and Thunderstruck, respectively, have all given way to their predecessors coming back from the dead and taking up their old mantles.

Main Marvel seems to try to keep everything essentially unchanged, such that I feared AvX was going to end with Hope walking into the bathroom, finding Bobby Ewing in the shower, and realizing the entire Post-M-Day storyline had all just been a dream. (That’s an 80s joke, kids, ask your parents.) But that *is* what “Brand New Day” did to a lot of plot and character development that had been building, including Peter’s marriage to MJ, and anything he gained in “The Other” in terms of powers or self-understanding. So I can’t imagine this Otto-side-of-me Parker will last, unless this is a dramatic way to reverse “Brand New Day” and put the character back on his pre-Bendis-retcon path.

Dave Witham106

Marvel are determined to make their characters accross all media as similar as possible, or at least so it seems with the introduction of things like Nick Fury Jnr. Personally, I do not believe that this will entice movie fans into reading comics as the audiences for the two media are largely different. Meanwhile Fury Jnrs introduction (at the expense of a classic Silver Age character) seems to have patronised and alienated many existing comic fans – myself included – who want our movies and comics to remain distinct from each other.

http://profiles.google.com/avanta72 Adam Avant

Probably so. Ha. But I’m also a realist.

And the numbers back me up.

Aldimes

There’s a connected question I’d like to pose – how many new readers does a comic acquire after it becomes a movie? Not many would be my guess. I live in Prague, and a couple of years ago I taught 15-year-olds who knew about the FF, Superman, Batman and the Hulk only through the movie versions. They were all aware of the comics versions, but would probably not dream of reading them. Just as fewer people read the original James Bond novels now, and I hope the Downey Sherlock doesn’t do it to Holmes. Movies are so dominant that their version of a character seems to become the accepted one.

Mrsnowden

Yes, and?

matt

It has nothing to do with a hissy fit and everything to do with minimalism. Take Marvels Exiles for example (from a couple of years back). Once Chris Claremont came onto the book he utterly destroyed it, it became horrible. Fans of the book tended to hate it once he came onto it. I dropped the book because it became bad/ weird. Why would I continue to read Exiles just to have every issue of Exiles when I could save the money and the space in my long boxes for good story lines. I don’t care how much of an avid comic reader you or anyone is there is NO reason to drop over 100 bucks a week on comics. There NEVER is that much good out. But guys in my shop persist with it just because comic collectors are obsessed with completion. My argument has nothing to do with events like Fear Itself and everything to do with crap story arcs

matt

And also character development is meaningless in Marvel and DC. It only matters in Events and very specific story lines. Take the Thanos Imperitive for example. In that story Star Lord and Nova both essentially died fighting Thanos. Cut to Marvel Now and Star Lord is back essentially retconning Thanos Imperitive. Why did they do this? because 1 we have a guardians movie coming out in a couple of years and 2 NOBODY READS COSMIC MARVEL so who cares if you retcon it. Did the character development matter in the story? yes? does it matter in the long run? no. Were no more then x amount of issues away from them retconning this spiderman doc ock thing. In all honesty you could get by JUST reading EVENTS at marvel and still understand whats going on.

Dfc2896

Cool story, whenever I get comics I see plenty of people are my age who buy comics, and then when I visit other stores I see people my age, when I’m in Barnes and Noble I see people my age, at conventions I see people my age. Your situation is your situation, I was just joking about the fact Jon C started with no one under 20 reads comic, when I see and know plenty of people who do read comics, that’s just my situation, and maybe it’s the exception, but whatever.

Jim H.

Aside from what you mentioned, Hawkeye’s costume was changed, and an entire new Avengers book was created just for people who want to see the movie line-up together, starting with a plot featuring the character teased at the end of the movie, and characters were brought back from nowhere without explanation because they’ll be featured in another movie.

matt

I did say this was from observation of the store i go to, it can be completely isolated

REALITY CHECK

In fairness— ANY major story from the big 2 is usually retconed within a few months. ( these days anyway. Used to be decades now its months).

reality check

The majority of readership is well over 20. Id go so far as to say the bread & butter of the entire industry is mid to late 30s.

under 20 readers do exist. But they are not weekly readers plunking down more that $20 .

THe under 20 demographic is scraps.
Sure there are ARCHIEs & so forth… but the average sales of Archies or kids comics PER WEDNESDAY is minimal to nothing.

So in 2013 Spiderman comics not reflecting other media of Spiderman – doesnt mean anything.
BUT if you were to ask me this question in say 1993– then i would tell you it would be a big deal.

REALITY CHECK

1000% true. Scary and sad. We have been hearing for decades that kids dont read comics anymore… but nowadays that can be proven so true…. 10% of that blam has to go to the weekly MARVEL COMIC READER who for the last 3 yrs has continued to purchase $3.99 comics- sending Marvel the message that you will pay ANYTHING for your Marvel fix.

Heck $2.99 for 20 pages ( which these days reads as just a scene from a 6 chapter story that doesnt even have an ending when comprised into trade) isnt worth it either.

There is a difference between taking time to flesh out characters & stories… and just padding things out to 3 or 6 issues what can probably be told BETTER in just 1 issue.

Comics from the big 2 are really not worth it these days. Id rather spend more on an indi that put their hearts into it.

REALITY CHECK

I would dare to challenge you on how many kids come into your store on a weekly basis. ANd then askyou how many NEW books they buy?

At best you might have 3 or 4 locals who just happen to be into it for the next few months before they realize 4 bucks an issue is a waste of money & time

Omegasaga

and how much do you spend per week on comics?? Are you buying at least $20 per week?

Is it every single week too?

Cause IF not then your demographic doesnt realy matter that much. Not when you compare that to guys who stop in twice a month to pick up a stack of books for like $150-200 per trip.

Nightfyre

Very true… the movies may garner some sales from young readers. Least my friend buys his young son a spider-man comic if he gets good grades. Granted he’s more adapt to draw pictures in them (i mean i drew stick figures running with Godzilla in my brothers comics, shhh no tell anyone!!) then actually reading the comic.

It’s hard to market comics nowadays like you use to in the past. There’s electronics to compete with now, mass media fronts and even grabbing their attention long enough to finish the comic can be a problem in some cases.

Though I guess doing short 3-6 panel comics on a page might keep people coming back each day. They’re short and not long winded which speed seems to be the thing now. Get it through to me as fast as you can or I walk away.

NightLife9000

Yes It does. People identify with Peter Parker. They sympathize with him, admire his never say die attitude. The idea that he does the right thing even when it costs him. Now let’s replace him with a mass murdering psychopath. Someone who has gleefully killed his way though multiple story lines. It would be like having the Red Skull transplant Hitler’s brain into Captain America body or having Lex Luthor doing the same to Superman.